Devil Woman

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This article is about the Cliff Richard song. For other uses, see Devil Woman (disambiguation).
"Devil Woman"
Single by Cliff Richard
from the album I'm Nearly Famous
B-side "Love on Shine On"
Released 23 April 1976
Format 7" single
Recorded 8 & 9 September 1975, Abbey Road Studios, London
Genre Pop rock
Length 3:35
Label Rocket (US)
EMI (UK) 2448
Writer(s) Terry Britten, Christine Holmes
Producer(s) Bruce Welch
Certification Gold
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"Miss You Nights"
(1975)		 "Devil Woman"
(1976)		 "I Can't Ask For Anymore Than You"
(1976)

"Devil Woman" is a 1976 hit single for Cliff Richard from his album I'm Nearly Famous.

Background

"Devil Woman" was written by Terry Britten and Christine Holmes (singer of the Family Dogg) and also recorded by Holmes under the name "Kristine".

A No. 9 UK hit in June 1976, "Devil Woman" became Richard's first single to reach the Top 20 in the US, reaching No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, which was Richard's highest peaking single. "Devil Woman" is the third biggest-selling Cliff Richard single with over two million copies sold worldwide.[1][2] It was certified Gold by the RIAA in the US and the CRIA in Canada.[3][4]

The song is told from the point of a view of a man jinxed from an encounter with a stray cat with evil eyes, and his discovery that the psychic medium (a Gypsy woman) whose help he sought to break the curse was the one responsible for the curse in the first place.

The song is heavily guitar-driven, with soft-distortion lines doubling the melody in the chorus and long, high, sustained single notes providing atmosphere over the verses. A Rhodes electric piano, bass guitar, drums and percussion are the only other instruments.

The musicians featured on the Cliff Richard recording are Terry Britten on guitar, Alan Tarney on bass, Clem Cattini on drums, Graham Todd on keyboards, and Tony Rivers, John Perry and A. Harding on backing vocals, with string arrangements by Richard Hewson.

Chart performance

Covers

  • 1976: Co-composer Christine Holmes sang the song as Kristine Sparkle.[22]
  • 1979: Estonian singer Jaak Joala, in the Estonian language (Title: Saatanlik Naine).
  • 1983: Riot on their album Born in America.
  • 1987: All About Eve, as a B-side of their 12" single Flowers in our hair.
  • 1987: Shy on their album Excess All Areas.
  • 1987: The Accüsed on their album More Fun Than An Open Casket Funeral.
  • 1989: Artisan covered the song on their EP Through Till Dawn.
  • 1995: Hank Marvin, as an instrumental in on Hank Plays Cliff.
  • 2005: Cradle of Filth on their special edition release of 2004's Nymphetamine with backing vocals by King Diamond.
  • 2007: Hayseed Dixie, as a bluegrass song in on Weapons Of Grass Destruction.
  • 2009: Estonian singer Uku Suviste, in the Estonian language (Title: Saatanlik Naine).
  • 2014: Chicago heavy metal band Spillage (with connections to Trouble) covered the song in live settings.

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ William's Cliff Chart Site - Cliff Richard World Singles
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Refer to the Top 20/30 tab: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Cliff Richard – Devil Woman". Top 40 Singles.
  12. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Cliff Richard – Devil Woman". VG-lista.
  13. ↑ As presented on Springbok Radio/Radio Orion: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ "Cliff Richard: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company.
  15. ↑ "Cliff Richard – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Cliff Richard.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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